Skulduggery Pleasant & the Remnant Jewel
by LucindaCainHail
Summary: SKulduggery and Valkyrie are on a case to find a Jewel that can rid Tanith of the Remnant. To get it they must go to Australia, where they meet new friends, new enemies, and old friends. Please check out the story, i suck at summaries.. Also rating changed to 'T' just to be safe with the following chapters. Please R & R! X
1. Chapter 1

Skulduggery Pleasant & the Remnant jewel.

A/N.. This is my first fanfic, like ever, not only on FanFiction, but ever. Um, this story is a short-story. Its after Death Bringer and just before KOTW, so Valkyrie's 17?

Disclaimer- i sadly do not own anything about this other than the story line and the character Mr. Kerith-Blu Shade.

Anyways, thank you and PLEASE R&R! :) LH.

* * *

Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain watched as people stopped and stared at the car they were in. The 1954 Bentley R-type Continental one of only 204 ever made slowly made its way through the dirty street and stopped when it came up to the only hotel on the block. Valkyrie got out first and began walking to the building and Skulduggery followed. He had his facade on and he stared at her. "You do know that i am the one in charge of this little mission, not you?" he grumbled behind her as she opened the door.

Valkyrie turned her head and grinned at him.

The mission they were on was to gather information on the Remnant Jewel. They had come across this when China, though hated she was, came up to Valkyrie one day with a large leather book labeled simply 'Remnants'. Inside was things written about Remnants that no other book in the world would possess. China had said she had gone through a great deal to get this book when she handed it to Valkyrie. Valkyrie had smiled but said nothing before she walked away to find Skulduggery and Ghastly.

Valkyrie and Skulduggery needed to find a man called Kerith-Blu who was said to know the current whereabouts of the Jewel. The only information they had so far was that it was green and not in Ireland. To get this much information they had to punch several people, break into four houses and have Valkyrie lose a nail. It had been very dissapointing to only recieve that much, but when Valkyrie found out that they'd be going to Australia if they got the right information tonight, she smiled.

Now, trudging around the lobby of the hotel while Skulduggery talked to a worker, Valkyrie was pleased to know that they were probably going to Austalia within the next 24 hours. Skulduggery gave a curt nod to the man and turned back to Valkyrie.

"He's upstairs, but i dont think he wants to see us." Skulduggery said pushing past her to the man who had turned around when he saw them.

"Hey! Hold up!" Valkyrie shouted as the two men began sprinting up the stairs while she was still in the lobby. Valkyrie ran into the stairwell and looked up just as Skulduggery came flying over the sixth floor railing and crashed back down at the bottom of the stairs. Valkyrie looked at him for a second before leaving him and running up the stairs. _This is tiring_, she thought as she continued to run up the stairs. She grabbed the railing and hoisted herself onto it. She balanced herself and jumped. _Oh God, oh God, oh God!_, Valkyrie mentally screamed to herself as she was falling. Then she focused and felt the connection between the palm of her hands and the air and she pushed. She shot up, proppeled by the air and went up three floors and laned right behind Mr. Shade.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, as you can see i have edited this chapter... I hope its better with the corrected grammar and things fixed. PLEASE tell me if you want to be a character in my story for when they go to Australia. PLEASE R&R!

LH.


	2. Chapter 2

Skulduggery Pleasant & the Remnant Jewel.

A/N: Hello. How is everyone today? i hope you guys like the story so far, i mean not much has happened but ya know. i know i had quite a few mistakes in the last chapter and im sorry BUT i have fixed/edited it so its all good. I think ill leave it there. Thanks, please Rate&Review!

**The Adept & Interrogation**

* * *

Mr. Shade stopped running and turned around when he heard Valkyrie land behind him. He smiled and lunged at her. She side-stepped away from him and summoned shadows using the Necromancer rings on her finger. The shadows were sent flying his way but he missed them by millimeters as he ran up a wall and continued onto the ceiling.

"Adept." Valkyrie mumbled under her breath as she summoned a flame in her hand and threw it at his head. But he wasnt there anymore. Valkyrie turned around and just managed to dodge a fist that was aimed at her face. "SKULDUGGERY!," she shouted, " GET UP HERE NOW!" Even tough she had been in many fights, recently she felt like she was being overworked, she was getting more and more sore and tired each day. If Skulduggery could get up here soon, then she would probably be headed to bright, sunny Australia in a couple of days.

Valkyrie dodged another punch to the face and swung a punch of her own. She felt it connect with his face and she turned around when she felt something poke her back. _It's just a doorknob_, she thought when thats all she saw.

She turned her head back and recieved a punch to the face. She staggered and slumped against a wall.

* * *

Skulduggery groaned as he got up from the floor. He looked around and saw the receptionist staring at him. He didnt say anything and began the climb up the stairs. He heard a shout from above, Valkyrie calling him. He deactivated his facade and jumped over the stair railing, snapped his palms and flew to the level where he heard the shout.

He reached the around the tenth floor to see Mr. Shade throw a punch square in Valkyrie's face. He landed silently behind Mr. Shade and clicked his fingers making the man turn around. Before Mr. Shade culd do anything, Skulduggery threw fire at him, Mr. Shade's clothes catching on fire. The large man screamed and crashed to the floor at Skulduggery's feet. Skulduggery continued to let the man burn for a few more seconds before he manipulated the moisture in the air dowsing the flames.

"Mr. Kerith-Blu Shade? We need to ask you some questions about a thing called a Remnant Jewel, do youu understand?" Mr. Kerith-Blu just whimpered.

Skulduggery snapped some handcuffs on him and sauntered over to Valkyrie who was slumped against the wall. "Valkyrie. Valkyrie are you alright?" he asked as she began to stir. "Mm-hm, sure." she opened her eyes and groaned. "I really dont like getting punched in the face." He chuckled and held out his hand to help her up. When he was sure she was steady he left her and walked over to Mr. Shade and dragged him through a door.

When Kerith-Blu woke up he saw his hands were tied to the armrests of the chair and when he looked up he saw the face of a dark-haired girl. She glared at him.

"Hello. Mr. Shade? Are you awake yet?" a smooth voice asked him from behind. He craned his neck around to see who it was. "Skeleton Detective." he grinned.

"Yes, yes we all know who i am, and im sure you know my partner Valkyrie Cain." he gestured towards Valkyrie. "Oh yes. I know about 'er too," Mr. Shade smiled, "but why'd yas come after me? Why do ya need me i have nothing you would want."

"If you would have heard Skulduggeru after he set fire to you, he said we need you for the Remnant Jewel." Said Valkyrie.

The man squinted at her as he tried to remember. A moment later his eyes lit up and he spoke. " Yeah, i remember. Do you want it for something? Or someone?"

"Yes. We need it for our friend. Could you tell us about it?" Valkyrie asked.

"Sure little lady. Well theres only one of 'em in excistence , it was created by a group of Necromancers a few decades ago when one of their friends got possessed by the darn things for a while, so they decided to experiment."

"Experiment with what?" Valkyrie said impatiently.

"Hold on, im getting there. Experiment with a jewel to make something like a mini Receptacle. They succeded and got it out of their friend, they said it could hold hold up to ten Remnants or something like that, yeah."

"Good, thats good information. Now, do you know where it is now?" SKulduggery asked this time.

"Yeah its in Australia, Sydney to be exact. i dont know the very place its resting, but i know someone who does. Mind you if you want to buy it, it'll cost you a bit."

"Thank you. What is this persons name? Could you give me his number?" Skulduggery said taking out his phone.

"Yeah, Its uh, Iris Dreamer, a lady actually. Her number's on my phone." he said. Skulduggery grabbed the moblie phone out of Kerith's pocket and walked outside with the two phones.

Valkyrie and Kerith sat in silence until it was broken by Kerith. " So, you single darlin'?" Valkyrie scrunched her face up into a scowl. "You can't ask a girl that after you've punched her in the face." "Oh, right. Sorry about that, but are you?" "How old are you anyways? Like a hundred or something?" He looked offended. "Im actually only 23, maybe its all the smoking I've done, makes me look older." "Ew." Valkyrie said and turned away.

"Valkyrie, we're catching a plane to Australia at 2am tomorrow morning you might want to go home and get some stuff." said Skulduggery as he walked back in the room. Valkyrie felt a grin creep across her face. "Australia? Seriously i cant wait! Finally somewhere other than Haggard and Ireland!"

Then she did something she hadnt done in a long time. She skipped, _skipped_, out the door and skipped down the stairs and didnt stop skipping until she reached the lobby, where she squealed in delight and did a little dance.

She was going to Australia.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, i know. i dont take Valkyrie as the skipping type either, but oh well. Anyways PM/Message me if you want to be one of the characters in my story! Tell me the**- _Name,Age,Appearance and magical Ability._ **Anyways, thank you and please ****_R&R! _****LH.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey, how's my story going? I hope you guys like it, even though this is only the third chapter.. I'm no Derek Landy but i try my best. This chapter is considerably longer than the first two. Please tell me if you want to be a part of my story,! Anyways without further ado, i give you Chapter Three.**

**P.s: I fixed this chapter up so i dont think it has anymore mistakes. X**

* * *

" You do know we're not going to Australia for holidays." asked Skulduggery as he pulled up at the pier.

"I know, but come on, its Australia. Tell me you're not excited to see the change of scenery."

"Okay. I'm not excited to see the change of scenery." Valkyrie laughed opening the passenger door and slowly getting out. "Seriously though, aren't you glad to be going somewhere different?"

"I suppose it will be nice. If we can get the Jewel quick enough you might have some time to actually enjoy Australia before we have to leave."

"I propose a deal. If we can get the Jewel before the time we have to go back, the remaining time we use for relaxing."

Skulduggery tilted his head in consideration. "Deal. We have five days, so if we get the Jewel before the fifth, relaxing is all we're doing." "Yes! Okay, I got to go, see you out here at one-ish?"

"Sure. Goodbye Valkyrie."

"Goodbye Skulduggery."

And with that Valkyrie walked from the pier to the back of her house. Even though it was dark she still chacked that no one was watching her. When she was satisfied that no one was looking she propelled herself up to her bedroom window. She pulled herself through and saw the reflection sitting at her desk doing homwork. "Hello," it said. "Did you find the Kerith-Blu man?"

"Yeah we did, so I'm going to Australia for a few days."said Valkyrie sitting on the desk.

"And you want me to continue being you?"

"Yep. Skulduggery's picking me up at one so we can get to the airport so im going to pack some stuff."

"It's only eight-thirty, you have a few hours to go." the reflection reminded her.

"Oh yeah. Well in that case i'd like to resume my life please." said Valkyrie gesturing towards the mirror.

Valkyrie tapped the glass and a days worth of memories came flooding into her head. Nothing interesting happened besides a fire drill at school. Valkyrie changed out of her black attire and into blue pajama bottoms and a grey jersey, before heading downstairs.

"Hello Steph, did you finish your homework?" asked her mother who was in the kitchen making milk for Alison who was in her Mum's arms.

"No, but im really hungry." Her mother laughed and started feeding the milk to Alice. "Your always hungry, even after dinner, just like your father. Do you want me to make you something?"

"No, i'll be alright, where is Dad anyways?"

"Oh, he's working late tonight, but he should be home soon." she said kissing Alison on the head. Valkyrie smiled and walked to the fridge grabbed a plate of leftover chicken and popped it in the microwave. While she waited she decided she'd pack her bag.

"Mum, can I take Alison upstairs while i wait for the chicken to heat up?" Valkyrie asked.

"Sure," her Mum said handing over the baby. "Just dont drop her."

"Ahh, mother you know i am to skilled to let such a thing happen."

"I know, it's your father we have to watch out for."

"And why would i need watching out for?" a voice said from the front door.

"Ah Des, your finally home." Valkyrie's mother handed smiled at her and left to talk to her husband.

Valkyrie made sure she was holding onto Alison properly before she walked up to her room. She sat Alice on the bed and took out an old backpack. She opened her wardrobe and grabbed a few shirts and other bits and pieces. As she double checked what she had it occured to her that she might need money. She shoved the bag into her wardrobe and picked up Alice who was sucking on her own fingers. "Oh you're such a little cutie." Valkyrie cooed. "Muuumm, can i have some money please?"

She could hear her Mum hesitate for a second. "I suppose, but what do you need it for?"

"I wanted to go to the shops tomorrow with Hannah, and you know, go shopping."

Her mother stared at her when she came down the stairs. "I thought you said you and Hannah hated each other."

Damn.

"Oh, uh, we sorted all the problems out and said sorry to each other and stuff. It's all good now." Valkyrie said quickly.

"Oh. Well good for you. There's um, some money in my purse. Take a note out of that. Mind you i only have big notes and i expect change." She said sternly.

"Sure. Oh and you can take Alice back." she said handing her over.

"Ah, get the money and go is it?" said her Mum, smiling.

"No. The chickens ready thank you."

"Okay, okay. Im only joking. You enjoy your chicken Steph." Valkyrie smiled and grabbed the food from the microwave and sat down to eat it. After she finished she out the plate in the sink said good night to her parents and went to her room. Before she went to sleep she checked the time. Nine twenty-seven. Three and a half hours to go.

xxxxXOXxxxx

"Valkyrie. Hellooo Valkyrie? Come on time to get up, we have to leave to the airport." Skulduggery's velvet voice woke her up. She mumbled something incoherent. "Oh good, your awake. Get dressed and meet me at the pier in five." Valkyrie opened her eyes and saw Skulduggery leaning against her window.

"Ugh, go away I'll be out soon." He sighed and leapt out her window. She groaned and checked the time on her phone and saw it was only twelve forty-five. She stretched and yawned then got up and dressed into her black trousers and jacket then grabbed her bag from the at herself in the mirror, she remembered to let the reflection out. She tapped the glass and threw the pajamas at it.

"You're leaving now i guess?" it asked.

"Yes. Just do what you normally do, be me and protect my family and whatever." said Valkyrie who was making sure she had money.

"I have to get my money, if Skulduggery asks i'm getting it." said Valkyrie making her way towards the door.

"Valkyrie! What;s taking you so long?" Skulduggery whispered from the window. "Dont worry about money, i'll give you some. Now come on we have to go."

"Okay, I'm coming just let me put on my shoes." Valkyrie put her boots on and tied the laces. "There. Happy? I'm all ready now."

"Well stop standing there and move, come on." said Skulduggery leaving the window. "I'm coming, I'm coming, geez. Anyways goodbye, i'll see you in a few days." said Valkyrie waving to the reflection as she jumped from the window. Skulduggery caught her and then they jogged towards the Bentley.

* * *

The airport was still busy even though it was half-past-one in the morning. It had taken them half an hour to get there and Valkyrie had slept for that time.

Now, Valkyrie was sitting at a cafe full of tired looking people drinking coffee while Skulduggery was in a hat shop, with his facade on, trying on hats. There was a security guard hovering around her but that didn't bother her. She continued to sip her coffee. It was only a few minutes later she heard a robotic female voice on the speakers.

"_Boarding Gate 4 to Sydney, Australia is now open, boarding gate 4 to Sydney, Australia is now open." _

Valkyrie chugged down the rest of her drink and walked over to Skulduggery who had just bought a fedora hat almost exactly like the one he currently owned. "Can we go now? We're allowed to board the plane."

"Yes i heard, but tell me first does this hat make me look any different?" he asked.

"Are you kidding me? It's exactly like the one you already have!"

"Good, thats what i wanted, you can never have to many of the same hat." he told her. "Now do you want to get a book to read or something to keep you occupied on this long trip?"

"Oh yeah i should probably get something, hold on i'll go buy a book and then we can go."

Valkyrie made her way to the book store chose a random book with a purple and black cover paid for it and rushed to Skulduggery. "There i have something, now can we go?" she said impatiently.

"Of course, lets go." They grabbed their bags and followed the line of people going down towards gate 4 and onto the plane.

**[[_15 minutes later ]]_**

"Hello, and welcome to Qantas airlines. This is your captain speaking. We are departing from Dublin and should arrive at Sydney, Australia at eleven am. Please pay attention to the flight attendants as they demonstrate how to use your oxygen masks, and life jackets in case of an emergency. Thank you, and that is all."

"This is fun isn't it? We're going to Australia. Haven't you been there with Fletcher before?" Skulduggery asked her.

She shot him a glare. "Yes but it was only brief, the longest i was there was about one hour, and we didnt really get to see much besides the Opera house."

"Well I promise that you're going to see more than just the Opera house." said Skulduggery who was getting into his meditating position. "I'm going to meditate and you can do what ever."

"Yay. You meditate and i'll read." said Valkyrie grabbing the book from her bag.

As she sat cross-legged in her chair, the lights dimmed and the plane began its way down the tarmac. She sighed and began reading as the plane took off.

* * *

_Darquesse opened her eyes and saw all the people around her. A mother and her child sat behind her, sleeping. An old couple was in front of her drinking wine. To her right everyone was asleep, most of the plane was. She looked to her left and noticed the empty chair. Skulduggery was gone. Oh well, she'd just have to find him later, it would make no difference. She'd still kill him. Darquesse stood up and stepped into the aisle, a book dropping from her lap. She sent shadows flying through the chest of a stewardess who was walking her way, slicing her in half. The old couple in front of her screamed. Darquesse grinned. _

_"No, please. Don't hurt my darling Christina, please leave her alone." the man pleaded_ _with her. How sweet. She stepped closer to them and they hugged, crying. She smiled and flicked her wrist, decapitating them. By now some of the other strangers had woken up and were screaming, waking everyone else._

_Darquesse laughed as people scrambled to get away from her. She closed her eyes for a second and felt stronger as thirty souls entered her body. Her eyes glowed, just as Melancholia's had just a year ago. She laughed as she felt power running through her. She walked to the back end of the plane killing many people along the way. Sudenly she felt cold, hard metal being pressed aginst her temple. Skulduggery._

_"Skulduggery, i was looking for you."_

_"Valkyrie, listen to me. You're stronger than her, fight it!"_

_"I'm not her anymore, you know that."_

_Skulduggery was silent for a moment. "I know. But you're going to give her back this instant or i'll shoot you."_

_"You wouldn't. You can't, you'd kill your precious Valkyrie, you wouldn't."_

_"Five seconds."_

_"Skulduggery, i know you to well, you wouldn't do-."_

_"Four."_

_"Stop playing games and just -."_

_"Three."_

_"You know you wont."_

_"Two."_

_"You can't kill me!" Darquesse snarled. "You won't!"_

_"I'm sorry Valkyrie." Skulduggery whispered. "One."_

_And then he pulled the trigger._

* * *

Valkyrie yelped and fell from her chair when she woke from her dream.

"Valkyrie, whats wrong?" Skulduggery asked her.

"Nothing, just had a strange dream you know. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay, but if you want to talk to me about it later you can. Anyways we're landing in a second so get ready for the heat."

"Really?!" Valkyrie looked outside Skulduggery's window and saw a large, charming city, she could see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera house. "Oh my God, it's so beautiful!"

"Yes it is. When we land we'll go to the hotel, have some lunch and then begin our search for this Iris Dreamer woman."

Valkyrie didn't respond. Instead she just smiled and buckled her seatbelt as the plane started to descend.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah the italics is a dream, obviously. Thanks. R & R. LH.. x**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: SO sorry for all the mistakes in the last chapter but i have fixed them up. Hopefully this one wont have any mistakes in it. Besides that, how is everyone? The school holidays are coming up so it means i'll be able to post quicker and stuff.**

**Um, i was going to start another story, along with this one. I'm not sure if i'll do it though, so i'll give you a briefing on what it's about in the next "Authors Note". Also Disclaimer- I do not own anything other than this story line and the characters: the Victoria Twins, Cherish Kills, Tux Reckless, Iris Dreamer and any other unfamiliar characters.**

**Anyways, here's chapter Four. Thanks, Please Rate&Review!**

* * *

Skulduggery and Valkyrie stepped off the plane and they immediatly felt the heat. Even though Valkyrie was in her protective clothing that she thought were meant to regulate her body temperature, she still felt the hot air in her face.

"Oh my goodness Skulduggery, it's so hot!" she exclaimed.

"I did tell you it'd be hot. Now I organised to get a car before we left Dublin." he told her. "We just need to find it."

"What type of car did you get?" Valkyrie asked unzipping her jacket. "It better be a good car."

"You just have to wait and see, i'm sure you'll love it." he steered her onto a small transit bus.

They got off at a building with a sign that said "Rental Cars, Low prices!" Inside there we're dozens of cars of all brands and models. A group of Japanese tourists were led to one car all the way at the back of the building and a family of four were led to another. Skulduggery walked up to one of the workers and mumbled something. The man nodded and grinned. Skulduggery came back to Valkyrie with a large smile on his face.

"Come on, this lovely man is going to show us our car." he pushed her in front of him.

The man was quite cute in Valkyrie's opinion. He had to be no older than twenty. He was tall and had sandy blonde hair and bright green eyes. He also spoke with a cute Australian accent.

"Hi. I'm Jay London." he extened his hand out to her. She shook it and smiled.

"I'm Val- Stephanie Edgley. Nice to meet you."

"I know you're Valkyrie Cain, it's alright. I should know of the magic world, i'm an Adept."

"Oh. I feel silly now. Um, so shall we go to the car?"

He nodded and led the way to a door at the side of the building.

**xxXxx**

"Oh no! There is no way in hell I am getting in that thing. Skulduggery you know how much I hate that car!" yelled Valkyrie as Skulduggery leant against a yellow car in the parking lot.

"What's wrong with a Canary Car? It's okay, other Australian's have yellow cars, look." he pointed to another yellow car that was passing by.

She just stared at him. "I don't care, i'm just going to walk."

"Alright suit yourself. It's a twenty minute walk from here and it's currently thirty-two degrees Celsius out here. I'm giving you the choice to walk or get in here."

She stared at the ground for a while before she sighed. "Fine, lets go." she opened the passenger door and got in. Skulduggery smiled and got in the drivers seat.

"And can you please deactivate your facade? The face annoy me."

Skulduggery chuckled and tapped the markings on his collar bones. The face dissapeared but his skull remained. "Is that better?" She nodded and Skulduggery shifted the gear stick and began to drive.

Ten minutes later they arrived at a large hotel. "Woah, are we staying here?" Valkyrie asked as the stepped out of the car.

"Yes. Only the best for a seventeen-year-old girl who has saved the world before. And of course for her skeleton partner who has done the same." Skulduggery said, reactivating his facade. He walked up to the receptionist and spoke to her. She handed him two blue key cards. He walked back to Valkyrie and handed her one of the cards.

"VIP? What the hell? And the penthouse luxury suite? Why did you get that one, why not just a normal room?" she gaped at him.

"Well I just thought that if we had to spend all five days working on this case, and no relaxation at the end I thought that the time we do spend at the hotel should be an enjoyable one." he explained, ushering her into an elevator.

She smiled at him and they stayed in silence until they reached the top floor and the elevator doors opened.

* * *

Cherish Kills stood with her partner in crime, Tux Reckless, from the balcony of another hotel across from where the skeleton detective was staying. They stood and watched as his partner, Valkyrie, stepped inside and squealed in delight. They watched her throw her bag onto the ground and jump onto a chair. The detective walked in and deactivated his facade. He said something to her and she nodded and picked up her bag before heading into the bathroom. The skeleton sat in a chair and opened a book.

"We'll have to meet with them soon." said Cherish, flicking her short purple hair from her bright blue eyes.

"Yes. We'll give them an unexpected meeting. Surprise them and get to the point. Do you think they'll actually agree to help us? Do you think they'll listen to us or kill us first?" asked Tux, closing his mismatched green and yellow eyes as he settled into a sofa.

"I don't know, I hope the skeleton can forget what has happened before and help us." said Cherish, cleaning her daggers then placing then down. "We really need his help."

Tux grunted and fell asleep.

* * *

Valkyrie stepped out of the bathroom in a pair of black shorts and matching singlet. She put her boots on and threw her bag on the ground. "I'm starving, lets go." she said.

Skulduggery put his book down and got up. "Okay, put your jacket on though, I don't want you to get sunburn and nnot be able to fight because your shoulders and arms are sore." He tossed her her jacket.

She put it on and stepped into the elevator. "So what are we doing after I eat?"

"Relax for ten minutes then begin our search for Iris."

"Didn't you get her number off Mr. Shade?"

"Yes but apparently she's gone missing so we have to find her." he explained, getting in the elevator with her.

The elevator doors shut and they went down. They got out, walked through the lobby and onto the busy streets of Sydney. They walked silence passing numerous shops, buildings and people. They passed a theme park opposite the Opera house and a museum of art before they came across a small fish and chips shop. Valkyrie sat down on a chair outside while Skulduggery went in and got her food for her. She breathed in the fresh air and felt the warm sun on her face. She looked around and realised she was looking at the spot where she and Fletcher had gone to have ice-cream just year or two ago. She remembered that day. The bird that flew on his head, how funny it had been. It had been such a lovely time...

"...Valkyrie? Earth to Valkyrie, hello I have your food." Skulduggery's voice snapped her out of her daydream.

"Oh, sorry i zoned out for a moment." she said, taking the paper bag of chips from Skulduggery. He sat down in the chair opposite her.

"I see. What were you thinking about?"

"Oh nothing important, just admiring the view." Valkyrie said looking back out to the Harbour. The sun shone and people were everywhere, there were tourists and families and business people. And there was also an odd looking couple staring straight at her. A woman with short purple hair and stunning, blue eyes and a man with blond hair and different color eyes. The woman smiled at her.

She turned back to eat her chips. "Skulduggery, theres someone looking at us. A woman and a man."

"Theres no one my dear Valkyrie, unless you want to count the two seagulls who want your chips." he pointed at the birds who hopped closer towards her when she pulled a chip out of the bag.

"Bu-but there was a woman," she sputtered. "And a man there, they looked so odd. They weren't tourists or someone like that, they were just odd."

"Ah Valkyrie, there are plenty of odd people in Australia, look at us. We're odd aren't we?" he gestured towards himself.

"I-i guess." she muttered. "Can we just go back to the hotel, i'll finish my food there."

"Okay. Are you feeling okay Valkyrie? Maybe it's just the heat."

"Yeah," she whispered. "The heat."

**ooOoo**

They walked back to the hotel in silence.

"Valkyrie," Skulduggery broke the silence. "What did these people look like?"

"Oh, um, well the girl had purple hair and bright blue eyes and the man had blonde hair and green and yellow eyes." said Valkyrie.

Skulduggery stopped walking. "Cherish and Tux."

"Who are they? Do you know them?" she tugged on his arm and he resumed walking.

"Yes. They were on our side during the the war, Tux was especially helpful. But then they joined forces with Mevolent. They were minions for Serpine and Vengeous." he explained, they reached the hotel and crossed the lobby. "They were known for murdur, robbery and torture. Mostly for torture."

"Why? What can they do?" Valkyrie asked, getting into the elevator.

"They're both Adepts, Tux is sort of like Tesseract. He doesn't crush the whole bone, like Tesseract, he can just break it. But then mend them. He does it with a single touch"

"So he can break bones with a single touch then can mend them. I see why he was good in the war. What about Cherish?"

"She can't really torture much with her powers but she carries daggers similar to Sanguine's razor."

"So the scars they give never heal?"

"Exactly. Now her Adept power is kind of like Sanguine's."

"What?! She can burrow through the earth too?" she checked the floor as if expecting to see the woman.

"Sort of. Okay it's not really like Sanguine. She can't burrow through the ground but she can go through walls. and locked windows and doors. She just reaches out, touches it and it creates a hole in the wall. Then, when she's gone through, it goes back to being a wall or window or whatever."

"So you're saying that if we had her in a room and we we're guarding the door and we thought it was safe to remove her of shackles, she could make a hole in the wall and leave through that?"

"Yes, pretty much."

"Wow. What happened to them after the war ended?"

"Oh, they went into hiding, there were _hundreds _and _hundreds_ of sorcerers, creatures, monsters, mages and necromancers that wanted revenge. After all they had killed and tortured countless children, women, men, animals and monsters without mercy."

"Wow." Valkyrie said quietly. The elevator door opened and Valkyrie stepped out first. She stepped into the room and was going to go to the bathroom to get changed when she heard whispers coming from it.

Valkyrie motioned for Skulduggery to come over. He pulled his gun from his jacket and Valkyrie readied the shadows.

"...should be here soon." a male voice said.

"Shut up Tux, they're probably already out of the elevator." said an annoyed female voice.

Skulduggery looked at Valkyrie and counted down from three with his fingers. He kicked the door down and pointed his gun at a purple haired girl who was standing in the bath. Cherish. Valkyrie stepped in and whipped the shadows around Tux's ankle and pulled. He crashed to the floor with a thud. She stepped closer to Tux and held a flame close to his face.

"Hi." said Tux.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi. I hope you guys like how the story is going so far. I realized that when you guys read it you might think that the story is veering away from the 'Remnant Jewel', but thats only because i came up with some new characters to go in the story, as the original plot I had was just too boring. So anyways please keep reading my story, theres a few twists coming up so yeah. Please R & R. Your reviews are greatly appreciated, especially the critisizing ones, because they help me improve to make the story better for you readers. Thank You, and again, please R & R. LH.**

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Skulduggery asked.

"Ah Detective, always straight to the point weren't you?" said Cherish in a strong London accent. "Never one for chatting."

"Why are you here?" Skulduggery asked again.

"We know why you're here, you want that Remnant thing don't you? Well I'm just letting you know that she doesn't have it. Woah woah woah! We didn't steal it or kill her or anything, as fun as that would've been," Cherish said quickly when Skulduggery stepped closer to her and pressed his gun to her head. "We need something from her too! So when we heard you needed to see her, we decided to see if we could all work together."

Skulduggery gave a slightly strangled sound then snapped a pair of handcuffs onto Cherish and took her daggers from the place in her jacket then sat her on the edge of the bath. He did the same to Tux but left him on the floor.

Valkyrie was shocked that Skulduggery was this calm. She had expected him to start shooting them and telling her that they can't escape, not handcuff them and stand back like a civilised person.

"What do you know of Iris's disappearance?" Skulduggery asked.

"Her assistant at the shop said that two strange women dressed in red came in and started demanding and shouting at Iris. When Iris refused then they took her away. Thats all Tux and I got, the poor guy was really sad and didn't want to talk too much so we left." Cherish explained.

"We think it's the Victoria Twins, you know, just because of the description he gave us." Tux interjected. "And the guy was mortal."

Skulduggery was quiet, processing the information. "Alright. Valkyrie and I are going to the shop to question the man further. You two stay here."

"What if you need our help?" Tux started.

"Well then I'd tell you that the sparrow flies south for winter." said Skulduggery, before hoisting Tux up and smashing his skull into Tux's forehead.

Before Cherish could do anything Valkyrie came up to her and took hold of her head, then brought it down to meet her knee. "How did either of them end up as Serpine's minions? We just knocked them out and they didn't even try to defend themselves."

He shrugged. "I don't know, maybe they just wanted to be knocked out."

"Well it was fun anyways. Let me get changed then we can go." said Valkyrie, heading towards the bedroom.

* * *

Iris Dreamer woke up in a dark room. Her blue floaty dress was ripped and barely on her. Her long black hair was messy and her lip was swollen and bleeding. She frowned at the darkness in disgust. Iris Dreamer should not havebeen in a place like this. She was the China Sorrows of Australia, but the only difference was that Iris's beauty was naturl and involved no magic or powers. She made countless men and women fall in love with her, but she used no magic. The only magic Iris possesed was the power over the elements. The earth element in paricular.

Iris had spent her whole life learning the earth element. She had no interest in fire, wind or water. What Iris could do with earth was incredible. She had heard the tale of how Ghastly Bespoke had used it and turned to stone. If that had been Iris in Ghastly's place, she would have commanded the rock to come through the ground and spear that Cleaver. Then she would have commanded the dirt to take the Cleaver down into the earth.

Iris sighed when she had finished surveying the room and realized that there was no way out. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep. The next time Iris woke up the was light coming through a door in front of her, and there was also a figure next to her.

"She's awake." the figure said.

"Oh goody." a similar voice said from the door. The voice was followed by a very tall, slim shape. The woman walked into the room, she wore a red leather jacket and a matching short, tight leather skirt. She also had flaming red hair that cascaded down to her waist.

Iris looked to her left, at the woman who had first spoke and saw that she was wearing the same thing.

"Bloodshed," she nodded to the first woman, that had a cut on her cheek. "Flame, how nice to see you again. It's been a while."

"Iris. I hope our hospitality has improved since the last time we had you." Flame said, walking towards her. "When was that? Fifty years ago?"

"Ah yes, it was a long time ago." Iris muttered. "Why do you have me again anyways? Did you two get lonely and bored without me or something?"

"You were always a joker Iris, but you know why we have you. We want the World Destroyer, the Death Bringer, Darquesse, whatever you want to call her. We know she's looking for you. She wants the Remnant Jewel for her friend. She's also coming with Skulduggery Pleasant."

"Wait. You mean the Cain girl is Darquesse?" Iris asked.

The twins nodded.

"Why in the world would you want to bring out Darquesse? She's going to be a mass murderer for Gods sake!" Iris yelled. "She'd kill you without aa moments hesitation. What in the worlddo you hope to gain by getting that lunatic? World destruction? Huh? Because thats what your going to get."

"No. Darquesse is smart. She should know to thank us for setting her free, she'd thank us and let us kill by her side." Bloodshed told her.

"Did you even listen to me? She'd kill you without even thinking about what you've done. She won't thank you, she'll kill you."

"If that's true, then I'm sure that you would like to be with your son when Darquesse doess come out." Flame said. Bloodshed left the room and returned with a small three-year-old boy.

"NO! Don't you dare hurt my son! Leave him alone." Iris shouted.

Bloodshed laughed and picked him up. The little boy didn't seem scared of what was happening.

"We won't do anything to him if we get Darquesse. Until we do your son is with us." Flame explained.

Iris stared at her son for quite a while until she came up with her decision.

"O-okay. I'll do it." she whispered.

The Victoria Twins smiled.

* * *

The Canary Car pulled up outside a large white building on a busy street. Even though the door was shut and the lights were off Valkyrie could still see a shop assistant sitting in a chair, staring blanky at the wall. Maybe he was hoping his boss would return.

Skulduggery had his facade up and he stepped out of the car and walked up to the window. Valkyrie followed him and knocked on the door. The man looked up and slowly got out of the chair. He took his time getting to the door, but when he did open it, his face was in a scowl.

"What do you want? We're closed for today, as my boss has been kidnapped and they still haven't found her yet, so as you can imagine, i am quite sad."

"Ah sir, that is why we are here. You see my partner Valkyrie and I, Detective Inspector Me, have come to question you about what happened."

The man stared at them both, theen nodded. "Come in. Are you just normal Detectives or are you...different type of detectives?"

"If you are refering to Sanctuary detectives, then yes." Skulduggery answered.

The man lookeed relieved and took them to the back of the building where there was a large kitchen.

"Tea or coffee?" he asked them.

"Uh, tea for me please." said Valkyrie.

"Nothing for me." said Skulduggery.

They were in silence for a few minutes until the tea was made and the man had settled into a chair.

"So what is your name?" Skulduggery asked.

"Call me Steve. I'm Iris's husband."

"Okay, Steve, can you tell us what the women looked like?" Valkyrie asked.

"They looked like twins. They both had long red hair, red leather jaclkets and red leather skirts. Also red high heels" Steve took a breath. "They were almost identical except one of them had a scar on her cheek.

"Okay, what happened?"

"We were in here organizing some new stuff that just came in, then they just burst through the door demanding she do something to Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant. I think it was a trade of Darquesse for the Remnant Jewel."

Valkyrie shared a glance with Skulduggery. He nodded.

"Um, Steve. I'm Valkyrie Cain and he's Skulduggery Pleasant." Valkyrie pointed to Skulduggery who had taken down his man looked at them and burst into tears.

"I-i'm sorry, It's- th-they have my son and my wife."

"What do you think they plan to do with your son?" Valkyrie asked.

"I know my wife would never try to find or summon Darquesse, they'll probably use him to bribe her. He means everything to her." he whispered. "He means everything to us."

"Do you have any clue to where they might be?" Skulduggery asked.

"Yes, I followed them. It was hard but I did it. I wwatched them go down to that dock and get on a private jet boat. I have my own so i followed them straight away. I stayed far behind them but i was close enough to see them pull onto Cockatoo Island, that old island around there where they used to build boats and keep convicts. I can take you there if you want."

"I know where it is. You should stay here and relax. Do you mind if we use your boat?" SKulduggery asked.

"Not at all." Steve handed them the keys and thanked him. They left the building and walked to the wharf where the boat.

"What are we doing now? Are we going to Cockatoo Island?" Valkyrie asked excitedly.

"Yes. And we're giving them Darquesse."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter :3 I have been to Cockatoo Island, on a school excursion and it was really fun. Disclaimer- I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant. Only this story line and most characters except Skulduggery and Valkyrie.**

**Please R & R! LH.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi. I hope you like the story so far... I felt like this was going no where so im going to end it within the next few chapters. I'm going to write another story after I end this one. It's going to be after KOTW, so just wait and I'll post it after this ends.**

**Please Review! X LH.**

* * *

"Just joking Valkyrie." Skulduggery said. "We're going to do what we normally do; arrive at the destination, make a plan as we go along, save everyone and the world, then be heroes."

"Oh. I thought you were being serious. That plan sounds better. And have you realized that we've only been in here for a few hours and we're already on our way to save someone?"

"Yes, I fugured that quite early on. Now get on the boat." he pointed to a red boat with _Dreamer_ written on the side, in large swirly letters.

Valkyrie settled into one of the red chairs and Skulduggery started the engine. "Skulduggery, tell me about the Victoria Twins."

"Sure." he said as they left the bay. "The Victoria Twins. Victoria Bloodshed, is a necromancer who carries her power in a sword. She's as good as Tanith, with a sword, maybe even better over the years. Victoria Flame is an elemental. She is best with the water and fire elements. She has this thing where she throws a stream of fire at you and lets you burn, before a blast of water gets aimed at you, throwing you off your feet if you haven't fallen because of the fire already. Then she does it again."

"So who is the most dangerous of the two?"

"Valkyrie, they are both deadly. Bloodshed will strike you with shadows before killing you with her sword. Flame will kill you by burning and drenching you repeatedly. You decide which one is more deadly. Oh and get ready we're almost there." he pointed towards an island.

They arrived a few minutes later, they didn't get off at the wharf, Skulduggery pulled the boat up at a hidden shady side of the island. Valkyrie got out and began exploring. She looked through the trees and could see a tour guide leading a group of tourists down a path. "Skulduggery, do you know where to go?" she asked.

He came up behind her and pointed towards a large water tower. "Knowing the Twins, they'd want the highest ground possible. If they have to kill, it's where everyone can see."

They waited until everyone from the group was gone, then they stepped out of the bushes and to a rickety pair of stairs. They walked some more and came across a large courtyard.

"Skulduggery, do you know the way to the water tower?" she asked, feeling hot again.

"No. but I do know where Iris is." he pointed to one of the buildings that had tape closing the doorway. Inside it was dark but they could see the two red-clad figures standing next to a tied-up woman. "Lets go, whatever happens be careful."Valkyrie stepped in the room first and Skulduggery followed. As soon as they stepped inside haze surrounded them and a wooden sphere rolled to Valkyrie's feet.

"You can choose to become Darquesse hidden, or you can fight us where everyone can see you. It's your choice." a soft voice said.

"Bloodshed, Flame. Just let Iris and her son go."

Bloodshed laughed a high-pitched laugh. "Let them go? You think we were going to be that easy?" she tapped her sword against the wall.

"Yes. I kind of thought it would be. But I guess it won't." Skulduggery summoned a fire ball in his hand and threw it at Flame who was holding a knife to Iris's throat. Flame screamed and retaliated by throwing a stream of fire in his direction and moving towards them. Bloodshed raised her sword high and swung it at Valkyrie. Valkyrie dodged and sent her back with a blast of air, then she sent the shodows racing towards her. Bloodshed summoned a wall of her own shadows to absorb Valkyrie's attack. She glanced at Skulduggery who was blocking a stream of fire with a wall of air but was trying to distract her by manipulating the moisture in the air.

Valkyrie cursed and dodged a spear of shadows thrown by Bloodshed. She looked at Iris, who was struggling to escape the chair. Valkyrie screamed as a shadow cut across her hip, blood flowing. She grunted and sent a fireball at Bloodshed and threw her own shadows at her.

"Valkyrie, just surrender, it'd be easier to become Darquesse. Honey, imagine it. You could explore Australia, you could come see it with us. Become Darquesse." said Bloodshed, swinging her sword and running at Valkyrie. She displaced the air and made Bloodshed trip. She took the opportunity to run to Iris.

"Are you ok?" Valkyrie asked, untying the bonds.

Iris's eyes widened and she started shook her head, trying to get Valkyrie to turn around.

"Valkyrie! Look out!" Skulduggery's voice called out to her. Valkyrie spun around and she cried out as Bloodshed's sword drove through her heart, straight through her protective clothing.

Valkyrie felt as if everything was going in slow motion. _Stupid, stupid Valkyrie. How could you let your guard down like that? Skulduggery told you they were dangerous, but you let your guard down._ Valkyrie fell to the floor and clutched at the gaping hole in her chest. She closed her eyes and smiled.

**- o-O-o-O-o-**

Darquesse opened her eyes and stood up. Iris gasped from behind her. "She's beautiful." she heard Flame whisper. Darquesse cocked her head to the side and stared at Flame. She could see the magic thrashing around Flame, it was an orange-red color. She looked to Skulduggery and saw his rainbow aura, his magic. She heard a sob behind her, it was Bloodshed.

She was kneeling on the floor with tears running down her pale face. Darquesses' shadows curled around Bloodshed and that made her cry harder, but not out of fear, out of happiness. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you now?" Darquesse asked.

"Be-because.. I c-could be valuable to y-you. I could find things, people, places for you." Bloodshed sobbed.

"Useless to me." Darquesse whispered. Then the shadows struck Bloodshed from all sides piercing her skin, creating little, deep cuts all around her body. Bloodshed screamed, and as Darquesse continued to add more cuts along her body, she began crying. This time because she was scared.

"Please! Stop, don't kill me! Stop! Vicky, help me!" Bloodshed cried out to her twin who stood there frozen, with tears in her eyes.

"No one can stop Darquesse." Flame whispered before turning to run away. Darquesse didn't do anything but continued to make more cuts on Bloodsheds' body.

"Valkyrie." Skulduggerys' voice called out to her.

"Skulduggery, you _know _it's me, Darquesse. And you know you are not going to get Valkyrie back this time, no stupid stories on how much Valkyrie means to you, I have no desire to get back in the corner of her mind. You won't get her back."

"Give her back. It's not your time yet, go back."

Darquesse walked up to him and put her hands on his chest. "Why should I? Give me one good reason why i should go back into the dark corners of her mind."

Skulduggery took hold of her wrists and put them to her side. "Give her back, please."

Darquesse smiled at Skulduggerys' foolish attempt to get Valkyrie back and run her hands through his aura, his life. He stiffened and his fists clenched. She played with it, letting it twist around her fingers. Suddenly she yanked at it and she heard a crack and Skulduggery put his hand to his arm. Darquesse laughed then suddenly felt something tug at her heart. She put a hand to her chest. _STOP don't hurt him! Leave him alone and give me back!_

"It's her isn't it? She's fighting you?" said Skulduggery, clutching his arm. "Valkyrie."

* * *

Darquesse gasped and fell, unconcious before she hit the floor.

Valkyrie opened her eyes and saw Cherish kneeling beside her. Valkyrie rushed to get up but Cherish pushed her down again. "Stay. Skulduggery, she's awake."

Valkyrie looked around and saw Skulduggery standing with a bunch of official looking walked towards them and held his hand out. "What happened?" she asked, as he pulled her up.

"You were Darquesse again. You started cutting up Bloodshed."

Valkyrie's stomach lurched. "I-I cut her up?"

"Oh no no no! You just began giving her little cuts all over her body. She's over there." he pointed to where Bloodshed was slumped against a wall with blood soaking her and one of the people kneeling next to her. Even from that distance, Valkyrie could see the little cuts all over her body. Some were not much to worry about, while others were deep and had cut a vein or two. Skulduggery pulled her into a hug as she swayed slightly.

"Skulduggery," she whispered into his chest. "I-I don't like beiing Darquesse. But I do, I love the power I get. But I don't like what I do with that power. We've been lucky the past few times she's taken over. Am I a bad person for liking that power?"

"No, your not a bad person for wanting that power. I know how you feel. To feel strong and in control of all that magic. It's ok Valkyrie, you are not a bad person." he held her away and led her outside.

Iris and her son were sitting on some stone steps on the other side of the courtyard. Iris looked up and smiled at her. Valkyrie gave a weak smile back. "It's ok Valkyrie, I know who you are and I'm not afraid. Besides, I have something for you." Valkyrie slowly walked away from Skulduggery and over to Iria and her son. She sat next to Iris and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, Valkyrie? You don't have to be sorry. What you did was slightly sick and evil, but it's in your nature. You cannot stop who and what you are. If you are meant to destroy the world, then you are meant to destroy the world. There's no stopping it."

"I'm still sorry for putting you through this, something could have happened to your son or you-."

"_Could _have happened. It didn't happen, my son didn't get harmed in any way, I only sustained a broken rib and a burn on my arm, nothing major. Stop beating yourself up and enjoy Australia." Iris said. "And this is for you."

Valkyrie looked at the green jewel that had been pressed into her hands. "Thank you." she whispered. Valkyrie got up and left Iris. "Skulduggery, I have the Remnant Jewel." "And I have someone that would like to see you." "Who-."

Suddenly she was pulled into a hug by a tall boy with blonde hair that stuck up at odd angles. "Fletcher!" she laughed.

"Valkyrie," he let go of her. "how nice to see you again."

"Yeah." she put a hand to his shoulder and they teleported outside an amusement park. "Movie World? That's nice but I can't go in there, I'm covereed in blood." She gestured to herself.

He smiled and handed his jacket over to her. "There. I just wanted to catch up with you, it's been a little more than a year."

"Yeah." she said quietly. "Shall we go in then?"

He smiled and they ran towards the ticket booth. They got their tickets and began walking around. "So how's life been for you?" he asked.

"Same old, same old. You know just the usual, beating up bad guys and working on cases. You?"

"I'm good. I've got a job in the Australian Sanctuary and I'm living in an apartment right on Bondi Beach. So why'd you come over to Australia?"

"Skulduggery didn't tell you?" Fletcher shook his head. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the bulky, green rock. "It's the Remnant Jewel. We can to find it so we could rid Tanith of the Remnant."

"Thats great! Taniths' going to finally be free again."

"Yeah it is. How about we go on that ride then we can have lunch or something?" she pointed to a large rollercoaster.

"I'd like that."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: HEY! Yeah, I know this chapter is really short but I kind of lost the 'spark' I had for this story. Please Review!**

* * *

"You should have seen your face!" Valkyrie laughed at Fletcher as they got off the rollercoaster.

"Shut up. I wasn't ready for the drop, I was busy admiring the view!" he protested.

"Whatever. You screamed like a girl too." she teased.

"Lets go and get lunch." he grumbled.

"Isn't it a little late for lunch? It's like five o'clock." Fletcher shrugged and she put her hand on his shoulder then they teleported to a small restaurant, a few blocks away from her hotel.

"Ladies first." he opened the door to let her in.

"Thank you." they sat down in a booth and a lady came up to them. "Hi, I'm Sandy and what would you like today?"

"I'll have the Beach House Combo One, please."

"I'll have that too." Sandy scribbled the order onto her notepad and walked away. "So how long have you been in Australia?"

"I haven't even been here twenty-four hours yet, and look how much I've done."

"Yeah. So what are you going to do now that you've found the Jewel?"

"I don't know, I was going to relax and enjoy Australia, see some sights and maybe try to get a tan." Valkyrie laughed at the thought.

"A tan? And how would you explain that to your Mum and Dad? How is your family anyways?" Fletcher asked, amused by her laugh.

"I'd think of something. And Mum and Dad are great, Alice is learning how to walk. She's very smart for a one and half-year-old child." A song came on and they fell into an awkward silence looking out the window, out to the harbour. A minute later their food came. Valkyrie didn't realize how hungry she was until her stomach growled noisily at the sight of two sausages, mashed potato, salad and gravy on the plates.

"Oh wow, that looks delicious!" said Valkyrie. Sandy smiled and left them. Valkyrie immediatley began eating, hacking at the sausage and drowning it in gravy. She noticed Fletcher wasn't doing the same. He was eating very _sophisticatedly. _She frowned at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"You. The way your eating. Its-your-." she shook her head. "The way your eating, its more polite than you used to eat."

"Oh. Yeah, well Rachel doesn't like when I pig out on our dates and it's kind of just become routine to eat like this." he said quietly.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you; I have a new girlfriend now." he didn't meet her gaze.

For some reason Valkyrie felt stung. "Oh. W-why didn't you tell me?"

"I just thought you mightn't have wanted to talk about relationships and stuff."

Valkyrie nodded and tried not to look upset. She was the one who had dumped _him_. Shouldn't she have had another boyfriend and gotten over him, the way he had done to her? Why did she care anyways, she had dumped him, but still she remembered his face when she had told him. How hurt he looked. She regreted saying those things. She still did.

"Valkyrie, are you ok? Do you need something?" Fletcher asked, worried.

"No! I'm fine." Valkyrie felt the tears sting her eyes, but she blinked them back. Crying, she thought, was a sign of weakness. "I feel a bit sick, I'm just going to sit outside for a minute."

"Okay, but if it's about me not telling you about Rachel, then I'm sorry." He let her leave the booth and watched her walk out the door then turn left, out of his sight.

**-oOoOoOoOoOo-**

Skulduggery sat in his meditating position, in a large green chair at the hotel room. Today had gone well, but it had been bad too. They had managed to get the Remnant Jewel, but Darquesse had taken over. It was lucky she did. She had saved Valkyries life, but Skulduggery knew that the only way she had gone back was because she had hurt him. maybe if Darquesse hadn't hurt him, Valkyrie wouldn't have fought as hard. He was thinking about what could have happened, when he heard the door open.

Valkyrie walked past him, into the bedroom. He slowly got up and walked to to the door. "Valkyrie?" he knocked on the door. "Are you alright?"

He heard a shuffling sound and a grunt. "OW! I'm alright, I'm fine." "Are you sure? You don't sound alright." A second later the door opened and Valkyrie was standing in the doorway in her black pants, a glittery black singlet and red high heels. "I'm going out."

"Out where? Did something happen with Fletcher?" he asked, letting her pass to the living room.

"Just for a walk out, I'll be fine. And don't worry about me." she had a glass of water and looked at him. "How do I look?"

"Valkyrie, you always look great. Just watch out for any bad guys, though it should be the other way around."

She laughed and left the room. He sighed and went back to the green chair. Just as he was about to slip into meditation his phone rang.

"Hello." he said.

"Hello Skulduggery, is Valkyrie there? I tried ringing her but she won't answer."

"Fletcher, I'm sure she has a reason not to answer your call so I suggest you stop trying. If she wants to talk to you, she will." It stayed silent on the other end for a while.

"Well when you see her tell her I said sorry and that I'd like to talk to her again."

"Fine. Good bye Fletcher." Skulduggery hung up before Fletcher could say goodbye.

He walked back to his seat and slipped into meditation.


End file.
